My biggest recollection is not Yao being "passive" or passing the ball back out too often or too quickly. A vivid image I have is of Yao going 1on1 with less than 8 seconds remaining on the shot clock and 2 or 3 Rockets planted motionless at the 3 point line while multiple defenders sag into the paint. Somehow, I think that's going to change. And considering passing is a strong suit for Yao, that's a good thing for the team.
That was kind of my point, and it wasn't meant to bash Yao, but rather, to show that Yao, as a rookie, was relatively inconsistant, in that on any given night, he had was just as likely to go out and get 10/5 as he was 24/12. He was also just as likely to block Shaq 4 times in a row as he was to give up 20/10 to a mediocre center. If we are to be legit contenders, I have no doubts that Yao will indeed have to become the focal point of the offense. I just have doubts whether he will be read to be "the man" this coming season, nor do I believe that he has proven he can dominate his position. Yet.
Shawn Bradley? You are kidding, right? Shawn Bradley was doing so well at the start of the season, but hasn't been the same after Yao dropped 30 points on his a$$!
If it's Jordan V.S. Dream, I'm sure MJ would bite the bullet, sack up and play to prove people wrong instead of whine in the public. I would be glad if Francis proves people wrong by his action. Talk is cheap, we have heard enough talk from the Wink in 4 years.
The more touches Yao gets the better he can get. Team will have to respect Yao inside presence and start double teaming and that create opportunities for the rest, especially Francis. This is the combo we always dreamed about. A dominant center and point guard. Imagine if Dream played if PG of Francis caliber. Example looks what happened when Drexler joined the team. That's in the making for something "BIG".
codell, Very true. However, let's not forget that Yao trashed him once first, and Lafrentz hada big hand in limiting him in the second matchup. Fact of the matter is, Francis is no Jordan and Yao is no Hakeem, so we can't pick one and go completely with him. We're going to have to spread it out way more thatn we think. But I'm pretty damn sure the best choice is to go to Yao MORE than we go to Francis.
Excellent point....Steve can't point a finger st anyone the way people like Andre Miller and Gilbert Arenas come in and hand him his ass on a platter night in and night out....... Until you tighten up on your D......don't beat YAO up..... YAO is the second best center in the league PERIOD...... Memo to Steveie, Listen........Let me ease your mind a little man You have a 7'5" center with skills most small forwards and guards dream about...he doesn't have to shoot every shot steve...he just needs to at least touch the ball on every posssesion.......it will make the game a lot easier for every one involved....especially YOU!!!!!!!! Move without the ball Steve....you have a center who passes better than most point guards in this league(including yourself)trust me you will benefit playin off him
The last game vs. Dallas, Shawn had something like 14 pts, 6 or 7 boards and 7 or 8 blocks against us. Yao had a nice game, but was 6-15. That was my point. Yao dominated Bradley one game, then let him play him to a standstill in another. Inconsistency.
Yes, as a rookie, Yao was inconsistent. But so are veterans. I remember one night Anthony Avent (do you even remember him?) lit Hakeem up like a Christmas tree. All game. So? The question remains - at what position do the Rockets have the most significant advantage night in and night out? Even at this early stage of Yao's development, I think its still the center, and the offense should be run inside out until its proved it cannot/does not work. We have had 4 years to see what our guard oriented offense does for us, and I think we need a change, and we need to make it now. Hopefully, Jeff Van MoFo will make it happen.
Francis hasn't been very consistent either. His dropoff in the end of the season was significant as well. Somewhere from about 20 ppg to 14 ppg in the last ten games?
Pipe, You are missing my point. Francis, at this point in their careers, is more consistant than Yao is, but thats not to say that Francis doesn't have bad games. You pretty much know that you are going to get 20/5/5 from Francis almost every night. You don't know if Yao is going to get you 20/10/5 or 12/5/1. So I am not ready yet to say that Yao is ready to be the go to guy that will get us into the playoffs. That remains to be seen. He certainly has the potential to be. Francis was saying that he feels he should be the #1 option until Yao proves he is ready to dominate night in and night out. Francis also says that he is willing to do whatever it takes to win. For the time being, I agree with what he says.
I hope this story is not true if not we are in trouble. Francis said some interesting things but the crux of his mentallity is ultimately stupid and selfish (as usual). Who certified him a good judge of ability? Yeah he has what it takes to be #1 but what has is done for us in 4 years? This boy is certainly dumb to key opening his mouth in public. JVG has credibility and a good reputation around the league. Francis does not really have much of a credibility and his reputation is that of a ball hog and low BB IQ. He will lose out if wants to dare JVG. Thank you again Les for hiring JVG. Francis why don't work on leading the team in defensive stops for a change? The kid is so worried about his offensive game that all summer long he has failed to mention his piss poor defensive game. Francis, offense is okay but only defense came take you to the promise land. Last tear everyone said Yao was not ready to contribute.....they were wrong. They said it would take him 2-3 years before he "settles down" and become a factor - liars; he settled down before the end of his second month. Now Francis is selfishly saying that this oft underrated Yao is still not ready to "lead" this present team - Shut the freaking up Francis and work on your sorry D damnit.
While I will agree that the statement you based your entire post was a silly statement, because Steve gets burned by point guards as much as Yao gets burned by centers, you missed the big picture, which is, is Yao ready to take over the team yet? Time will tell
Your number is not entirely accurate. Go look again. What more .. for a Rocket's fan, I would expect you to have the numbers wrong in favor of a Rocket, not the other way around!! I don't recall many mediocre centers getting 20-10 from Yao either. Some of them did score a few points but that was partly because our scouting report told Yao to back off from his man. I have not heard you mentioned the beating Francis got from other guards, only of Yao's ... you don't mean to bash Yao ... but go ahead and do so ... I pity you and l look forward to your suffering this coming season!
You don't think Yao can take over the team, yet you think Francis can? He had failed for years ... You maybe the one that missed the big picture also ... Noone said to let Yao take over by himself and try to shoot 25-30 times a game (even if the percentage says it's better for him to do so than others). We say you "play inside out" because that had proved to be the best offense around ... and "inside out" has the word "out" in it too!!
